Fans Lobby Paul McCartney to Buy Everton Football Club

Paul McCartney is a man of the world, but he'll always be a Liverpool boy at heart -- or at least that's what fans of the Liverpool-based Everton Football Club are hoping, anyway.

Founded in 1878, Everton FC has enjoyed a fairly illustrious history over the last 100-plus seasons, including nine league championships - although none since the 1986-87 season - and five FA Cups, with the last one coming in 1995. With manager David Moyes set to leave the club for champions Manchester United, the "Toffees" don't look likely to end that drought any time soon, especially since management is currently suffering a financial rough patch.

Everton is currently seeking a new buyer, with Ukrainian billionaire Oleg Bakhmatyuk emerging as the most likely candidate, but Bakhmatyuk's reportedly checkered past has one group of fans looking for a different solution: "a petition to appeal to Beatles legend and Liverpool native son Paul McCartney to purchase our illustrious football club."

Saying, "We believe the team could face serious financial disaster in the hands of Mr. Bakhmatyuk," the online petition threatens a boycott if the currently proposed deal goes through, and warns that the club and its supporters will be "punished by Mr. Bakhmatyuk in the same way his greedy endeavors have punished so many others." To that end, the petition signers are "turning our hopes to Sir Paul, one of the most gifted musicians and one of our greatest humanitarians around the world."

As TMZ points out, the team's $200 million price tag is a lot of money even for McCartney, who's rumored to be worth "around $800 million" -- and he didn't accrue all that wealth by making business deals that weren't a safe bet to turn a profit. In addition, despite being from Liverpool, McCartney isn't a fan of Everton, or their more successful local rivals, Liverpool FC. In 'Anthology,' he said, "My family team was Everton and I went to Goodison Park a couple of times with my uncles Harry and Ron. They were nice memories for me, but I wasn't all that keen on football."

All of which is to say that his Liverpool roots may not be enough to persuade him to become a soccer club owner -- but don't let that stop you from signing the petition, located here.